They now have rules in place for high school athletes where they have to weigh in officially daily and can’t on average decrease more than half a pound a day . Helps with some weight cutting issues.
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I support that idea. I’ve never cut weight myself for powerlifting because I was never in the position to set a world record, but I’ve seen my fair share of people hooked up to IV bags, etc. Kinda scary. I’m not a doctor, but from what I’ve heard, drastic weight cuts can cause heart problems, etc.
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I’ve read many times that heavy AAS users “know the risks” of their choices, but the handful I’ve talked to have insisted that they’re “being safe” and generally seem to have not internalized the risks in any meaningful way. Honestly, it reminds me of the drug addicts and heavy drinkers I have known. To them, everything is fine… until it very much isn’t anymore.
For anyone with more experience in this area: do you think any of these competitors honestly thought there was a non-trivial chance that they would die due to these protocols? Furthermore, would the average moderate-to-heavy AAS user be comfortable with the idea that they’re potentially sacrificing 10-30 years of life in order to look a certain way or lift heavier weights?
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Tight gut chicken wing coming right up!
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I think that’s absolutely terrific. Teenagers should not be taking those risks.
And then watch out!
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I’m sure they understand the inherent risks when they climb aboard the AAS merry-go-round, but from what I’ve seen, any side-effects, long term or short term, are not weighed equally. Furthermore, side effects appear to be very individualistic. Some get high BP, high LDL cholesterol, etc.
For me, the only side effects I got were oily skin, a bit of acne, and an extremely high libido. Always checked BP and had labs run which returned fine.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention doing cardio and eating damn near perfect. However, even despite regular cardio and eating right, AAS can cause hypertrophy of the heart in a negative way. NFL players hearts grow, but it grows in an acceptable manner based upon their sport (and assuming their not using AAS).
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Good observation, Trevor. I don’t like speaking ill against people who are no longer around to defend themselves, but a couple of the steroid-using men I’ve known in their 40s who’ve died in recent years were also the ones saying, “I get my blood work done because I’m responsible and care about my health, and it’s all good!” Then they die before reaching 50 of one of the usual, well-known, steroid-exacerbated causes.
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It’s a sad state of affairs.
This is the impression I’ve gotten from the people I’ve spoken to as well. I imagine that many competitors also list “I’m working with a highly-regarded coach” as another reason that they’re not going to end up dead.
I just have a hard time accepting that there are people out there willing to sacrifice decades of their life and leave their children fatherless or motherless and their spouses widows or widowers in order to win a plastic trophy. The drug addicts that I’ve been close to have all been running from something or trying to escape some kind of deep inner pain, which I can understand to some degree. Are bodybuilders doing the same thing?
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I’d reckon so. I believe a lot of them are using bodybuilding due to self-esteem issues, depression, etc that stemmed from early childhood. And, let me be clear, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s when an individual incorporates the use of drugs that the picture becomes muddied and, unfortunately, dangerous.
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And doctors (most) have almost zero knowledge of drugs used in bodybuilding or powerlifting as it is not widely covered in med school. It’s unfortunate, too, because if they had more knowledge, perhaps they could construct models to minimize dangers as opposed to just saying, “They’re illegal and bad for you!”
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New related news, so to speak.
Coach said it’s not on him. I suppose legally it’s not.
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I have heard and read this line of thought and I don’t see how that would fit into medical practice at all. Providing medications for no disease or abnormalities and prescribing in amounts that will lead to disease and abnormalities is not medical practice. I don’t know how this can be done in a responsible or ethical manner.
They are illegal and bad for health. What ethical professional would give what is bad and illegal?
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That article is really tragic!
I am by no means a bodybuilder and am not part of this discussion, but as someone who’s been competitive at many things in his life, I can assure you it’s never about winning “a plastic trophy.”
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I suppose I did not expound on my thoughts correctly. What I was trying to get at was: perhaps doctors could educate themselves on every AAS, so if an individual comes in and says “I’m using AAS with no plans on stopping in the near future. Can you please help me relative to my health?” I would hope, regardless of the doctor’s view of AAS, he would monitor their health closely and provide feedback if things begin to go off the rails.
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There appears to be a warped coach-client dynamic in these cases.
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Coaches who don’t know how to do things properly or safely as possible. Who the heck advises someone to eat ~900 calories per day with the inherent overtraining (yes, needed overtraining to get shredded) in contest prep?
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Clients who keep going despite feeling deathly ill.
Although I’m not a prep coach, I did one show with a good one, and with this little experience and my personal knowledge I say that what I’ve heard some top-name coaches advise (yes, some people’s beloved gurus) is dumb and dangerous!
And sad to say, from my experience, some or maybe many they advise are lacking in psychological acuity, common sense, and a baseline knowledge of nutrition and the human body. I don’t think anyone should even seek a coach if they’re lacking those.
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I think that’s reasonable, though bodybuilders who seek such help don’t stop what they’re doing and simply announce to the world, “I get my blood checked,” and, “I go to a doctor.”
One beloved guru would sometimes announce his doctors visits, sometimes film them, and show blood-test results. I thought to myself, “That’s nice. Care to add what you’re doing or stopping depending on these results? Are you going to stop? Why are you announcing this to all of us?”
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I still put this on the coach, though. It’s like the old school football coaches talking about (after they’d gotten someone hurt a second time) “he wanted to go back in there.” Of course he did - that’s the athlete’s job! The whole reason we have a coach is to make these decisions for the athlete and mitigate their own self-destructive tendencies.
Obviously ultimate responsibility for executing a plan lies on the athlete. When executing a plan perfectly is dangerous, that’s on the coach… and blame isn’t displaced simply because the athlete was hard enough to actually do it.
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All correct. The blame is on the coach. The situation becomes worse when the athlete has no baseline knowledge or insight. Hence they should have that before starting, or In the case of young athletes, have parents involved.
I think sports are great, but I don’t value them so fanatically as others because statistically speaking the chance of my children being great at them in the future is near zero. But if one day I saw or heard of either them doing wacky stuff or they were involved in a martial art, or other contact-heavy stuff (MMA or boxing), I’d be greatly concerned and have serious talks with them and who is advising them. Luckily I do have some knowledge and insight.
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